Top 10 Reasons to choose Ionic framework for mobile app Development

I’ve been in the HTML5, CSS, Typescript/Javascript and Cordova (basically Hybrid) mobile App development for over 2 years now. I used ionic v1 and started using ionic 2, since it was in beta. So I decided to make this small and precise post “Reasons to choose Ionic framework for mobile app Development”.

When, I first saw the Ionic Framework and played around with it a bit, I realised this was the missing piece of the (hybrid) puzzle! It had all the native-like UI components and view transitions built into the framework for both iOS and Android, making it a breeze for developers to build hybrid apps. It supported Android and iOS using Ionic Native and Cordova modules. Subsequently it has evolved to support windows Platform, Browser Platforms and Progressive Web Apps out of the box.

1. Ionic Framework is Completely FREE, Open Source and Well Backed.

Ionic Framework is completely free and Open Source to use. The complete source code is available on GitHub.

Being open source, there is such small barriers to entry. Anybody around the world can start creating Mobile Apps with An idea, A computer and an Internet connection. With powerful frameworks like Ionic provided free, almost anybody can create things that can change their lives and the lives of others. Just Imagine, If you had to pay Money for a license for such frameworks, then It would become very difficult to even getting started.

It is well backed by Investors, Its Parent Company and Community Force, and is not likely to get Abandoned (as it happens to many open source projects). Its very strong argument to count as Reasons to choose Ionic framework for mobile app Development.

2. Its base is Angular (Supported and Maintained by Google in open source)

Again the base of ionic is Angular, currently running Angular 4, and planned in pipeline 5, 6, ….. and more. Basically, Ionic extends Angular with a bunch of stuff to make building mobile apps with Angular super easy. Angular is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks in use today and is backed by Google.

I hope you are enjoying “Reasons to choose Ionic framework for mobile app Development”. Read on –

3. Ionic feels like “Native”, when using the Mobile App.

Ionic is fast, smooth and responsive. It has everything built in to perform fast and efficiently on a mobile device. Some of the notable points to consider would be –

Handles the “dreaded tap delay” by default. Also use ‘tappable’ directive

Large lists scroll smoothly (Recycles and reuses DOM elements)

Built in hardware accelerated animations.

Most common components, like tabs, side menu are prebuilt and work very well.

Recent updated like Lazy loading, Ahead of Time (AOT) compilation make drastic improvements.

Angular Production mode, make it really really responsive and fast even on web broweser platforms.

Ionic runs in the Web-View and provides native functionality for Android, iOS and Windows. It has evolved to provide Progressive Web application support. Support for Progressive Web Apps is build into the Ionic Framework out of the Box.

6. Beautiful Default UI That Is Easy to Customise and Enhance

Ionic provides easy to use, ready made Web components (UI Building Blocks) like lists, tabs, Side Menu, Cards, Buttons, Selects etc. It also allows any ready made components to be used from Angular Framework.

Custom components and pipes can also be created for Enhanced functionality. Good thing is that these UI Components are reusable and can be shared with the community and used in other projects.

Notable Components and Building Blocks:

Side Menu and Tabs (Starter Templates).

Cards, List

Alerts, Selects, Modals

Popover, Radio, Range

Icons and Buttons

Inputs

The components can be highly customised, using simple defines in central theme files.

9. The Community Is Active and Awesome

Blogs, forums, YouTube channels and many for, dedicated to talking and discuss Ionic Application Developmentfor your next mobile app. Every programmer needs help at some point in time, and this community is huge to provide that. Even the founders pitch in to provide their support and expertise.